of sweetwater



(No Model g L. BROWN. KNIFE SHARPBNER.

No. 584,457. I Patented June 15, 1897.

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To: an z chom itntay concern/.-

Be it known that I, LEON BROWN, acitizen :of' the :Upited States, residing at Sweetwater,

Sharpener, ofawhich the following is such a full', clear,and exact description as'will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use my said invention.

-(oscillatethe rotatable blades which are beilrgsharpened, sothat the abrading-surf-ace no ofthesharpenershall come in contact with =13he knife uniformly along the entire length 1 of-the edge? oi the knife, so that the entire I edge may be truedand sharpened alike and to provide -an abrad'ing or sharpening surface 2-5 '-a'd3ustable' in such manner that when one part of said't surface becomes worn by use the abrader may be shifted so as to present if 2 3; n art of the abrader in conta with the I dge of theknife.

I herein illustrate and describe my invention as applied to a lawnmower, but it may be applied with equal advantage to other n1achines employing rotatable spiral knives substantially like those shown in the drawings.

My invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts shown in theannexed drawings,to which "reference is hereby made,and hereina fter particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the knife-shalpener in position on a lawn-mower. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the knife-sharpener detached from the lawnmower. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan, on an enlarged scale, of, the knife-sharpener detached from the lawn-mower. Fig. 4. is an enlarged vertical section through the knife-sharpener and through one of the knives of the lawnmower on the line 4 of Fig. 1 and shows one I STATES {BROWN oF SWEETWATER, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR or oNn-nArr-"ro" ARTHUR J. ALKIRE, or slime PLACE.

g in gthe'county of Menard and State'of Illinois, '5f havei'nventeda-certain new and useful Knife- PATE T @FFICE.

KNIFE-SHARPENER.

srncrrIoArIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,457, dated June 15, 1897. 1.

H Application and pt m r 26,1896. Serial No. 607, 09. (NomodelJ of the cams on the knife-sharpener in en ga gement with the knife.

Similar letters of reference designate like parts in' all of. the views. 4

inverted position, may be of any usual and well-known form having rotatable knives A, and is illustrated only for the purpose of showing the connection of the knife-sharp ener therewith. r v The knife-sharpener proper consists, essentially, of a guide-plate attachable to the frame of the lawn-mower, a slide moving on said guide-plate and provided with means adapted to oscillate the knives which are to be sharpened, and an abrading-pla'te carried by said slide and adapted to sharpenand true the edges of said knives, as hereinafter more fully able form is concave on its upper side, as shown in cross-section in Fig. 4, and is of such length that the slide may slide longitudinally on the guide to such extent as to permit the cams on the slide to oscillate the knives A sufficiently for the abraderto come in contact with the cutting edges of the knives along the entire lengthof the knives. I By making the upper surface of the guide-plate concave, as shown, I am enabled to reduce to the minimum the bearing'surfaces on which the slide D moves. The concavity" in the plate servesalso to facilitate the removal of dirt or other obstructions which might if not removed impede or interfere with the accuracy of the movement of the slide. In the guide-plate are holes Z) or slots 11', adapted to receive bolts a, connecting the plate with the frame of the lawn-mower. In attaching the knife-sharpener toa lawnmower the cutter or blade against which the knives cut is removed, and the same bolts which served to secure the cutter-bar to the lawn-mower frame maybe used to secure the nections may be used without departing from the spirit of my invention, it being only essential that the guide-plate shall be secured to the frame in such manner that the parts may cooperate, as hereinafter set forth.

The lawn-mower A, which is shown in an 'set forth. The guide-plate B in. its preferguide-plate to the lawn-mower frame, or other bolts or clamps, or other suitable con- 9 5 The slide D has a longitudinal channel (I,

of difierent forms may be used without departing from my invention.

On the front-of the slide D is a fixed camplate E, having at its lower end an integral curved and tapering cam 6. An adjustable cam-plate E has at its lower end an integral cam e and is also connected with the front of the slide D in any suitable manner, so that the plate E ma be adjusted relative to the plate E in order to permit knives of different sizes to pass between the cams on the plates.

As a preferable means for-the adj ustmentof the plate E, I provide a slot e in the plate and a screw 6 passing through the slot and screwing into the slide D. On the under side of the slide D is an adjustable abrader F. This abrader may be of any suitable and convenient form and maybe either a file, a hardened-steel-scraper, a Whetstone, an emerystick, or other abradant adapted to file, scrape, or whetthe edges of the knives A. The abrader is made adjustable in order that when any part of its surface becomes worn the abrader may be shifted so as to bring another part of the surface of the abrader into service. In the ends of the abrader are notches f, which receive bolts f, by which the abrader is connected with the slide D, as

hereinbefore set forth. When the knifesharpener is in position on the lawn-mower and the slide is at rest, one of the knives A lies between the cams e and e and the under surface of the abrader is in cont-act with the edge of the knife. If then a reciprocating movement be given to the slide D, it is obvious that the cams and 6 will alternately engage with the knife A in such manner as to impart oscillatory motion to the knife and cause the edge of the knife to rub on the abrader, so as to true and sharpen the edge of the knife. It will be seen that when one knife s sharpened the slide may be removed, so as to release the sharpened knife from between the cams, and another knife may be brought into position between the cams and the slide reciprocated to cause the abrader to sharpen that knife, and so on in succession until all of the knives are sharpened.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim'as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

L'In z, knife-sharpener, the combination of a guide-plate, means for supporting said guide-plate in proximity to the blade to be sharpened, a slide slidable on said guideplate, an abrader adjustably coniiected with said slide, a fixed cam-plate on said slide and a movable cam-plate on said slide adjustable relative to said fixed cam-plate, as set forth.

2. In a knife-sharpener, anabrader having notches in its ends, a slide having longitudi-.

nal slots, and connecting-bolts fitting in the notches in said abrader and adjustable in the slots in said slide; in combination with'a guide-plate, means for supporting said guide platein proximity to the blade to be sharp- 'ened, and projecting-cams on said slide be tween which the blade to be sharpened passes, as set forth.

3. In a knife-sharpener' for lawn-mowers,

a guide-plate concave on its upper side and having slots registering with the holesin the lawn-mower frame which accommodate the bolts by means of which the cutter-bar is secured to the lawn-mower frame; in'combination with bolts fitting in the slots in said guide-plate and connecting said guide-plate with the main frame of the lawn-mower, a channeled slide slidable onsaid guide-plate, an abrader adjustable on said slide and project-ing camplates on said slide between which the blade to be sharpened passes,-as

set forth.

Iii-witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name, in the presence of twowit nesses, at Sweetwater, Menard. county, Illinois, this 22d .day of May, 1896. j

' LEON BROWN.

. Witnesses:

LE IS ALKIRE, EDWARD 'ALKIRE. 

